1. BUSINESS OFFICE
As a public forum for free expression, the student media at North Carolina State University exist to
inform and to entertain, first and foremost, the students followed by members of the surrounding
community and peers in the journalism profession. Working in student media gives participants hands-
on experience in the mass media which will assist them regardless of their career goals. By upholding the
highest standards of journalistic ethics, the student-run media will help students become competent as
ethical and responsible adults, who are enthusiastic about their future involvement in human affairs and
optimistic about their future.
Goals2015-2016
Training and Transitions
IN GENERAL: Student Media staff will be knowledgeable of current journalism, broadcasting and marketing practices in print, audio, video and online. To
accomplish this, initial and ongoing training must be an integral part of each staff. This aligns with the University’s strategic plan of enhancing the success of our
students through educational innovation by provide high-impact educational experiences for undergraduates.
• RESOURCE GATHERING — In-house and external training materials will be published on the Student Media training website (studentmedia.ncsu.edu/
web/smatraining). This will include media-specific skills and broader leadership training resources. Each adviser will be responsible for updating his or her
section.
• TRAINING MANUALS — Staff manuals for Agromeck, Technician, WKNC and the photography staff will be updated at least biennially to reflect new prac-
tices and posted to the Student Media training website. Each adviser, with input from his or her editor/manager, will be responsible for updating the training
manual. The Student Media styleguide will also be updated at least biennially and published online. Progress will be made toward developing a staff manual,
or at least some staff resources, for Nubian Message, Windhover and the Business Office.
• TRAINING CALENDAR — Dates and topics for all regularly scheduled trainings will be posted to Student Media’s Google calendar.
• CONVENTION ATTENDANCE — Both students and professional staff will attend regional and national conventions to cultivate a culture of learning. This
will include but is not limited to conventions sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press, College Broadcasters Inc., College Media Association, College
Media Business and Advertising Managers, North Carolina College Media Association, Society for Collegiate Journalists, and Southern University Newspa-
pers. Following each convention, attendees will either provide written summaries to be published on the Student Media training website or prepare a staff
training session.
• RETREATS — Agromeck leaders will attend a retreat each summer to focus on book planning, leadership development and team building. Technician and
Nubian Message leaders will also attend a training retreat at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters to focus on planning for the semester, leadership
development and team building.
• ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS — Each top editor/manager will have a regularly scheduled weekly meeting with his or her adviser to identify any training needs
and report progress for the group. Once the next year’s editor/manager is selected, he or she will begin attending the weekly meetings to focus on transi-
tioning to the new year.
• ONBOARDING — An official checklist will be developed for hiring, promoting and terminating employees and volunteers so that each new student can be
assured access to all necessary resources (job agreements, payroll, building access, email lists, server access, etc.). Editors/managers will provide updates
on hirings, promotions and terminations to the Administrative and Annual Publications Coordinator at the start of each month to ensure an accurate em-
ployee and volunteer database.
Branding
IN GENERAL: Student Media, as a department and as individual media outlets, will begin developing a comprehensive brand strategy to increase awareness
of its operations on campus and in the community. This aligns with the Division of Academic and Student Affairs strategic plan to develop and steward resources for
organizational excellence by developing a comprehensive and robust communications capacity to inform, educate, and engage stakeholders.
• SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES — Each media will devise a social media strategy to guide content and interaction across social media platforms.
• AUDIENCE INFORMATION — WKNC will create a survey to gauge listening preferences of N.C. State students to guide programming choices. Nubian Mes-
sage will develop a list of audience interests, issues and concerns to help guide content creation. Technician will host at least one reader focus group.
• CROSS PROMOTION — All media will make better use of Technician and Nubian Message house ads and WKNC public service announcements to cross-
promote their services and events.
• PROMOTIONAL ITEMS — The department and individual media will maintain a budget line item for promotional items to use for branding and recruitment.
• STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS — All media will continue to pursue promotional partnerships with on-campus departments and off-campus entities to
increase brand awareness.
• ALUMNI OUTREACH — The Marketing Coordinator will initiate formal and informal alumni outreach efforts, including the alumni database, LinkedIn
groups and an alumni newsletter.
• MISSION STATEMENT — The mission statement (printed at the top of this document) will be evaluated to ensure it is an accurate reflection of departmen-
tal operations and goals.
Cultural Literacy
IN GENERAL: Student Media staff will demonstrate a higher level of cultural literacy and competence. This aligns with the University’s strategic plan to enhance
organizational excellence by creating a culture of constant improvement by encouraging diversity and inclusion.
• DIVERSITY IN RECRUITMENT — To begin formal diversity recruitment efforts, Student Media will revise its hiring packages to include a supplemental
demographic information sheet to gather information on which groups are represented - and not represented - among the Student Media staff. Once hiring
is complete in the fall semester, the information will be analyzed to determine where efforts need to be concentrated.
• DIVERSITY IN CONTENT AND COVERAGE — Agromeck, Technician, and WKNC staff will be encouraged to include coverage of diverse communities and
ideas in their media. This will include the continuation of Bienvenidos, a Spanish-language section of Technician, and Spanish-language music programming
on WKNC.
• DIVERSITY IN TRAINING — Representatives from the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, Multicultural Student Affairs , the GLBT Center, the
Women’s Center and other groups as needed will be asked to provide training for media staff.
• EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTE — Students and professional staff will be encouraged to participate in the Equal Opportunity Institute or similar train-
ing programs and share information with the staff at regular meetings.
• WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY — Each media will work to improve the accessibility rating of its website and decrease accessibility errors according to the
University’s IT accessibility guidelines.
TECHNICIAN
WINDHOVER
NUBIAN MESSAGE
AGROMECK
WKNC